


we could leave this town and run forever

by flow3rs



Series: you were mine for the summer (now we know its nearly over) [5]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - Beach, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beach Sex, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Makeup Sex, Non-Graphic Smut, Small Towns, Summer, Summer Love, have fun with this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26627845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flow3rs/pseuds/flow3rs
Summary: sea foamtogolden hour: im leaving in a week ricky.sea foamtogolden hour: i really dont want to leave things like this.sea foamtogolden hour: please just text me back when you can.orricky sleeps for a week, ej wakes up at 5am to surf, and old tapestries laid out on the sand are the best place to forgive someone.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell
Series: you were mine for the summer (now we know its nearly over) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890310
Comments: 23
Kudos: 63





	we could leave this town and run forever

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'ocean avenue' by yellowcard. aka the anthem of this series.
> 
> shoutout to my friends ([ichorborn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichorborn/pseuds/ichorborn), [finding](https://archiveofourown.org/users/finding/pseuds/finding), [TheKeyOfHappiness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKeyOfHappiness/pseuds/TheKeyOfHappiness)) where would i be without you.
> 
> WARNING: there is no underage sex in this fic. all parties are 18 and above.

The grey blue sky was showing hints of orange as the sun rose across the horizon; just the top half of the rising sphere, bright gleams of golden light reflecting on the surface of the crashing waves.

EJ squinted, putting a hand out in front of his face as the glaring yellow sun shined in his eyes.

Ricky’s favorite color was Canary yellow.

EJ sighed, putting his hand down as he surveyed the mostly empty beach around him. There were a few stragglers; tourists coming to watch the sunrise early in the morning, couples on picnic blankets passing around donuts, a small girl running after her bouncing German Shepherd as it ran into the water.

It had been a while since he was able to do this. He forgot how much he liked coming to the beach by himself, early in the morning, to surf. He used to do it a lot, when he would wake up to find his house empty. It helped clear his mind; was easy to get distracted by the next incoming wave, to steady himself on the hard board and ground himself, knees bent and gravity centered until the water overtook him once again.

It had been a week since the party and Ricky still hadn’t talked to him; left his texts on read, ignored his calls. EJ even tried going to the ice cream shop but all he found was a sophomore in high school scrambling to figure out if the green ice cream on the left or the green ice cream on the right was Green Tea Gazette.

So it had been a week since the party. That meant: he only had a week left in Cape May until he went back to stinky Central Jersey, with its 908 phone numbers and family-owned bagel shops and parkway exits. And then, he’d have to move back into ECU and go to school and practically erase all summer memories as if they didn’t happen.

He waded through the steady waves atop of his board on his stomach, wetsuit clinging to his skin and saltwater making his hair cling to his forehead. EJ floated, waiting for the perfect wave to arrive and when he found it, he rose up onto his feet, planting them as he steadied himself to ride the tide.

The thing is, he didn’t want to erase the memories of this summer. Because for the first time in a while, he actually _made_ memories. Instead of the monotonous routine of waking up to an empty house, making himself shitty breakfast, and dipping his feet in the unused pool until his lifeguarding shifts started, he actually _did_ something for once.

EJ met a boy.

Well maybe, he didn’t _meet_ him. Maybe he had already known the boy for years but for the first time it felt like EJ actually _knew_ him. It was like an entire reintroduction; the opening credits for the first movie an actor did after starring in a franchise. You knew the actor as one character for a long time. But now you were seeing them completely differently; they were a new person and you were suddenly entranced by that new person.

And maybe. Maybe you were beginning to like this new version of that person. Because you never got to see them in that light before.

Once upon a time, Ricky was just the boy who cried in Ron Jon. He was just the annoying little shit in The Inside Scoop. He was the only other person who came to Broadway Beach at 5 in the morning to surf.

But Ricky was so much more to EJ than that now. He was a sparkling crescent moon reflecting on the ocean at midnight. He was an old porch swing with chipped green paint and a faded pillow. He was bright pink eyeshadow stained on EJ’s thumb.

EJ didn’t want to wash that shadow from his fingers. He didn’t want to erase all of the memories he made with Ricky this summer. He didn’t want to pretend that Ricky never happened.

He didn’t want to leave Ricky.

*****

He was used to sleeping a lot.

Usually he’d take a nap and then wake up and go to work or hang out with his friends or go to his therapist’s office.

But this week. This week Ricky just. Slept. 

And slept. 

And _slept_.

He didn’t really want to wake up.

His father was getting concerned. _Are you taking your medication? Do you want me to schedule more therapy sessions? Should I call your mom?_

_You want me to tell EJ to come over?_

Because of course his father loved EJ. So of course Ricky didn’t tell him what happened.

And if Ricky was honest with himself, _yes_ . He wanted EJ there with him. His blankets and pillows and stuffed animals felt colder, like the chill of the autumn weather was creeping up on them. His pastel yellow walls weren’t as warm as they had been when EJ wrapped his arms around him and matched his breathing to Ricky’s as they fell asleep. _In, out, in, out, in….out…_

But Ricky was rarely ever honest with himself. _That’s one of your major toxic traits, Ricky. Do you know what you can do to fix that, Ricky?_ Miss Jenn, his therapist, had said. He really liked Miss Jenn. Maybe a little less after she called him out like that, though.

Ricky was rarely ever honest with himself. So the pastel yellow walls surrounding him left his room in a cold, sickly glow; his blankets and pillow and stuffed animals remained freezing, and instead of matching his breathing to EJ’s, Ricky practiced the box breathing Miss Jenn taught him so that his heart would stop pounding so fast in his chest.

He was avoiding real life, he knew. Avoiding seeing people he didn’t want to see, avoiding problems that he knows he created, avoiding confrontation because he was so terrible at it. He wanted a week to himself; to maybe think things over as summer came to a close. His father had even let him take the week off from work (not that he really had a choice, Ricky refused to get out of bed).

Except it was hard to avoid everything when one of the people you were trying to avoid kept texting you.

SATURDAY

2:24 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: Ricky im sof ucking sorry about tonite

2:24 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: pleasejust text me when you get home im sorry im fuckedup rihgt now

2:27 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: Ricky nothing u said was true ok. I care abo ut youso much

MONDAY

10:42 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: hi, i know you probably want space right now so im sorry if this is annoying. you dont have to reply but just know im thinking abt you

WEDNESDAY

6:02 PM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: haha went to the ice cream shop and said “the usual'' but the kid didnt know what i meant. forgot youre the only one that knows my order

6:29 PM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: anyway hope youre doing okay, maybe we can talk soon?

FRIDAY

3:19 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: i really, really miss you.

TODAY

11:37 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: im leaving in a week ricky

11:41 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: i really dont want to leave things like this.

11:43 AM from **_sea foam_ ** to **_golden hour_ **: please just text me back when you can

Ricky stared at the messages on his screen for what was probably the hundredth time, contemplating his response to EJ. He bit the inside of his cheek before letting out an exasperated groan and throwing his phone across his bed. Curse EJ for making him feel things through a screen.

He grabbed a pillow from his bed and brought it to his face to muffle his scream before hearing a knock on his door.

“Ricky? Are you okay?” his father asked, peeking through the crack of the door and seeing Ricky with a pillow over his face.

“Mmph,” he replied through the fabric.

His father came inside of the room and sat on the edge of Ricky’s bed with a sigh, moving the pillow so that he could see the boy’s face.

“You know I don’t like forcing you to do things, but you’re going to have to get out of bed someday,” the man said gently, moving the wild curls from his son’s forehead.

Ricky sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything. But remember there are a lot of other people you can talk to if you need. It’s always better to let things out than keep them locked in,” his father reminded. “And if you want to schedule more time with Miss Jenn, I don’t mind driving you.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

Mike looked away for just a second, continuing to stroke Ricky’s hair lightly. “She is a very lovely woman, you know. She’s great at her job and I think she’s really helped you. Not to mention she’s a sight for sore eyes,” the man added absentmindedly.

Ricky just blinked at his father silently before sitting up in the bed. “Dad– do you have a crush on my therapist?” he deadpanned.

“Wha—? Oh my— no!” Mike spluttered before pausing. “Well, I definitely don’t _not_ have a crush on her.”

“Oh my God.”

“If that makes you uncomfortable, we can always find a new therapist—“

“No!” Ricky interrupted, an excited smile forming on his lips. “This is amazing. Oh my God, I could totally set you guys up! I can hype you up during my next session and I can tell her how awesome you are. I mean I low key do complain about you sometimes but hopefully she doesn’t remember those sessions that clearly—“

“Ricky! Calm down, I am not going to date your therapist,” the man laughed.

Ricky raised his eyebrows. “Unless?”

The pair stared at each other before bursting out laughing, eyes crinkled and holding their stomachs.

When their laughter died down, Mike let out a deep breath. “I know something happened between you and EJ. I don’t know what and maybe something else happened too. Like I said, I can’t force you to do anything but I think you should try to figure it out with him because if you don’t things will just get worse. You care about him and I can tell he really cares about you. So just...think about that, okay? I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Ricky pursed his lips and looked away but he knew his dad was right. “Yeah. I’ll...think about it.”

“Good,” Mike concluded, patting him gently on the back and standing up. “That conversation probably drained you so I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day, but let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“Thanks, Dad,” Ricky smiled as the man closed the door behind him.

Sometimes it was the little things that mattered the most with his father.

Ricky exhaled, counting down from ten before searching his blankets to try and find his phone. He texted a few people before scrolling down to open the contact that had made him throw his phone in the first place.

TODAY

12:38 PM from **_golden hour_ ** to **_sea foam_ **: hi.

12:38 PM from **_golden hour_ ** to **_sea foam_ **: ill be at sunset beach around midnight

12:39 PM from **_golden hour_ ** to **_sea foam_ **: if the stars align maybe ill see you there

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and pressed send before throwing his phone across the bed once more.

*****

EJ almost screamed when he saw the notification for Ricky’s text.

He then proceeded to roll his eyes as he read the message. _“If the stars align…”_ Dramatic bitch.

(EJ loved it.)

His heart beat out of his chest as he lazily rode his bike down the dimly lit road leading to Sunset Beach.

The beach lived up to its name during the hot, summer evenings in Cape May; it had the most beautiful view of the sunset and it was a tourist’s favorite place to visit. On the horizon, the ever changing colors of the sky looked as if they were painted on; strokes of magenta and lavender mixed with golds and warm orange with a scenic backdrop of a shipwreck far off in the water and lazy waves humming against the shore. People flooded the beach to snap their pictures, watch the sunset, and leave within 30 minutes.

But at this late hour, the streets were empty of parked cars, the lights of the gift shop were turned off, and the beach was left peaceful and quiet until the next sunset came.

EJ slowed down his pedaling as he pulled into the parking lot, rocks crunching underneath his wheels. He was nervous; he didn’t exactly know what to expect from Ricky tonight and truth be told, EJ had gotten caught up at work and hadn’t even been able to reply to the text. Which meant that Ricky might think that EJ wasn’t coming. But it also might mean that Ricky wouldn’t even be here in the first place. And now EJ was wringing his hands anxiously as he rested his bike against a post and surveyed the beach to see if anyone was even there.

His eyes stopped as he noticed something shining in the darkness on the sand, a warm glow that he couldn’t quite place. There were no other signs of life on the beach, so EJ cautiously made his way over, heart still beating wildly in his chest.

It was only when he was a few feet away, much closer to the water than he anticipated, that he realized the glow was coming from fairy lights laid out on top of a blanket strewn with pillows and lanterns. EJ stood confused as he eyed the set up, before a person in a hoodie appeared from the darkness carrying more pillows.

EJ screamed, causing the person to scream as well, their pillows now scattered all over the sand after being thrown in the air in surprise. In the debacle, the person’s hood fell off and revealed Ricky underneath, and it was only upon further inspection that EJ realized that the hoodie belonged to _him_ ; it was one that Ricky had stolen from him.

“EJ?” the boy said in a meek tone, eyes wide and fingers playing nervously with the ends of his hoodie as he looked across at the older boy.

EJ squinted, gaze traveling from Ricky’s nervous tick to the picnic blanket set up on the sand before returning to look at the younger boy. He tried his best to keep a straight face, but EJ couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. “What’s all this?” he asked quietly.

“Um, well,” Ricky cleared his throat shifting from foot to foot as he began explaining. “I had this whole plan and I was going to, like, do it. But I wasn’t really expecting you to be here this early, I mean it’s only 11:47 and I told you to be here at midnight so I’m not exactly ready yet but also I kind of didn’t even really know if you were gonna show up because of course after, like, four days of texting me _non-stop,_ you suddenly decide to not answer me when I _actually_ text you back but _whatever_ —”

“Newsie! Holy shit, shut up!” EJ interrupted and Ricky might’ve thought he was being rude if the goofy smile on the older boy’s didn’t say otherwise.

Ricky raised his eyebrows, his own lips forming a shy smile. “ _Newsie_?” he repeated, bottom lip jutting out just slightly.

EJ rolled his eyes and shook his head as he said, “Come here.”

Ricky did as he was told, stepping carefully over the fallen pillows and tiptoeing slowly across the sand until he was just a few inches away from EJ, faces close but not close enough as Ricky bent his head up just slightly to look at the older boy. EJ stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest, but continued searching Ricky’s face, relearning his features after only a few days of being apart. EJ would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the scattered freckles on Ricky’s cheeks, the hazel tint of his eyes, the sharp tip of his pointed nose.

“Hi,” Ricky stated, eyes softening as they looked at EJ.

“Hi.”

“So, my plan was to tell you that I talked to Nini—”

EJ’s eyebrows creased. “I don’t like that plan.”

“Can you let me finish?” Ricky laughed. “Um, I talked to Nini and. Well I apologized for blowing up because I shouldn’t have done that in front of all those people. And then she apologized for not being there for me as a friend. And basically we had this really long, deep, conversation about our lives and what we’ve been going through and there was a lot of crying and hugging and _lots_ of tissues, so. I think. I think we’re good now? Yeah, we’re good. It’s still gonna be weird and we’ve got a lot to work on, but at least we’re communicating now.”

“Okay. That’s good. I’m proud of you,” EJ commended, voice level but Ricky could see the genuine pride in the older boy’s eyes and something about his expression made Ricky’s knees weak. He liked that look. He liked making EJ proud.

He scratched the back of his neck and breathed in and out slowly as he got his words together. “I also had a good talk with my dad and he kind of told me he had a crush on my therapist which is weird in theory but I really like my therapist and I really think she would be a good match for my dad. And I really want my dad to be happy so I’m totally going to set him up with my therapist. The only bad thing about that is that I’d probably have to find a new therapist because if they dated then that would definitely be, like, some breach of privacy or whatever. But I guess I’m willing to get a new therapist if my dad gets to leave the house for the first time in months.”

“Where are you going with this and what does it have to do with me? Did you take your adderall today?” EJ chuckled, eyebrow quirked.

“What? Oh. Miss Jenn, yes. Oh, Miss Jenn is my therapist.”

“I figured that much.”

Ricky coughed, stepping slightly closer to EJ. “Well, I had an impromptu session with Miss Jenn today because she’s cool like that and willing to sacrifice her time to help me, and she said some really good stuff about not letting problems just slip away without any closure. And how one of my toxic traits is not being communicative and then letting all of my feelings build up until I explode. Which you obviously saw with Nini. So, I was like, yeah you’re right, Miss Jenn. So after I texted you, I planned this whole thing with the blankets or whatever so we could, like, talk and stuff because, like you said, I don’t wanna leave things like this.”

“So...what do you wanna talk about?” EJ replied patiently, but Ricky noticed the way his finger was gently tapping against his forearm nervously.

Ricky exhaled slowly, eyes closed as he ground himself, feet sinking into the sand. He swallowed past the prideful lump in his throat as he began, “Well, basically. I just want to say: I’m sorry. I’m sorry for blowing up at the party. I’m sorry for kinda gaslighting you into feeling like you have a savior complex. I’m sorry for ignoring your texts and being too stubborn to accept your help even though all you ever want to do is help me. I’m sorry for implying that you have nothing bad going on in your life even though you’ve told me otherwise. I’m just. Sorry. For everything.”

He timidly reached out a hand through the sweatshirt he was wearing, and as if on autopilot, EJ uncrossed his arms and reached out as well, lightly tangling their fingers together. Ricky sighed in relief; he had _really_ missed the way EJ’s skin felt against his in any capacity.

“Um, I’m sorry, too,” EJ began, stepping an inch closer to Ricky, their noses lightly brushing as they looked at each other seriously. “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you needed to be fixed. I never wanted to make you feel like there was something wrong with you. Because there isn’t, you know? Mental illness doesn’t equate to _bad_ or _broken_ and I feel like maybe I accidentally got into that mindset a little too much. And I’m sorry for that, because I don’t want to fix you. I don’t want you to change. I literally love everything about you, every single thing that you are right now.”

Ricky’s eyes widened at the word _love._ He wasn’t very used to hearing that word.

“But there’s one thing I’m not sorry for,” EJ said, a regretful look in his eyes.

The younger boy’s eyebrows scrunched up, heart beating faster in his chest. “Wha— what’s that?” He responded cautiously.

“I...am not sorry for stealing that boogie board from you. Because I never would have met you. And if I never met you, I think my life would be _super_ boring, Newsie.”  
  


Ricky snorted, relaxing as EJ stroked his finger with his thumb softly. “ _Obviously_.”

EJ smiled down at the younger boy, eyes crinkled and nose scrunched. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of looking at Ricky; he could come up with a thousand detailed metaphors to describe just his eyes, could spend hours upon hours just watching Ricky be Ricky.

“So...are we good?” Ricky asked, biting his lip nervously.

“No, I hate you,” EJ deadpanned, while wrapping his arms around Ricky’s middle and pulling the other boy to his chest, making Ricky giggle as he continued. “You’re annoying. And you take too many naps. I’ve never met anyone who takes as many naps as you.”

“It’s not my fault you’re exhausting to be around.”

“Ugh, and don’t get me started on how _needy_ you are: always need me to hug you or cuddle you or hold your hand,” the older boy pretended to complain, holding Ricky even tighter. He began peppering tiny kisses across the younger boy’s face as he mumbled against his skin, “And always wanting so many _kisses_ . And I _have_ to give you all of them! Because you’re so spoiled!”

Ricky beamed, closing his eyes and burying his face in EJ’s chest. They made their way to the blanket that Ricky set up, an old tapestry that once belonged to his mother. It was frayed around the edges; some of the threads had come loose, the color faded in certain spots. But in the middle laid a beautiful, intricate design; a mandala with hints of turquoise and gold and yellow and cerulean. It was Ricky’s favorite mat to lay on when his family used to go to the beach. It meant a lot to him.

And it would come to mean even more to him as EJ and him lay on top of it haloed by the gleam of the moonlight above them, popping Scooby Doo gummys into each other’s mouth between sips of Capri Sun. (It was all Ricky could afford on such short notice.)

(EJ didn’t really mind because Scooby Snacks were his favorite and Strawberry Kiwi Capri Suns on the beach tasted like a dream.)

They passed time how they always did: talking their ears off for hours, sharing even more about themselves if that was even possible. It seemed as though they could never tire of getting to know each other; as if there were an infinite amount of information they could relay and absorb from one another. They laid side by side on the old tapestry, Ricky on his back while EJ leaned above him, head resting on his elbow as he listened to the younger boy fondly.

“So...I have a question…” Ricky said, playing with his fingers nervously as he looked up at EJ through his eyelashes.

The older boy squinted, afraid of what Ricky was going to ask. “Okay...spit it out, Newsie.”

“ _Soooo_ ,” Ricky began sheepishly. “Like, since we just, like, made up and stuff. I feel like it would only be appropriate to have...make-up sex? I don’t know though, you know. Just like a crazy idea that went through my mind, like, so weird, right? Crazy,” the younger boy mumbled to himself, before looking back up to check EJ’s reaction and batting his eyelashes.

“You’re unbearable,” EJ replied with a roll of his eyes.

Ricky threw him a bashful smile and fished inside his pocket before pulling out a condom.

“Did you plan this?!?”

The younger boy locked eyes with him seriously. “Obviously. We have to finish what we started at the party, right?”

EJ just laughed, moving himself over Ricky and fencing the younger boy into his space with his elbows, faces just inches apart. Ricky felt EJ’s breath against his cheek as the older boy spoke, “How bad do you want this?”

“I washed my ass in the shower before coming here.”

“Are you implying that you don’t always wash your ass?”

“No, but– like. You _know_ ,” Ricky stuttered, avoiding eye contact.

EJ just raised his eyebrows like the asshole he was, waiting for the other’s response.

“ _Fucking bitch_ ,” mumbled the boy underneath him. “The _inside_ . I washed the _inside_!” 

“Heh heh,” EJ chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to Ricky’s lips, who frowned at him in return. “I just think you look cute when you’re annoyed.”

Ricky pretended his insides didn’t melt at the words as their lips moved against each other, their kiss deepening.

_He called you cute_. 

_I am cute._

EJ licked into his mouth like Ricky was the sweetest cone of Cookie Dough Chronicle and Daily S'more, and from there things got more heated; hoodies pulled off, shirts thrown in haphazard directions, pants foregone, and hands all over each other’s skin. Lips separated only to be attached to a neck, bruises forming underneath an ear as sharp teeth bit below. Fingers twisted a nipple, eliciting a high pitched yelp. The same fingers also migrated down to open Ricky up, slow and sweet and sensual as breathy moans escaped; melting the sugary treat below EJ, making Ricky drip and pour and soften until his mind felt like a foggy haze and his body felt like a puddle.

A push to the shoulder brought EJ onto his back and Ricky straddled his waist, guiding EJ inside of him and sighing as he met the older boy’s hips with his own. Large hands gripped his waist, felt up his abs and his chest, stroked at the prominence of Ricky’s collarbone. Few words were spoken in between them as Ricky bounced and EJ thrust up, the only sound in the cold night air being the crashing waves in front of them mixed with the low moans of the boys on the sand.

Forget. Ricky wanted to forget. And that’s exactly what EJ always gave him: an escape. From his own fucked up mind, the same-old town of Cape May that he had gotten too used to, the aching pain in his chest that showed up at the most inconvenient times of the day. EJ let Ricky forget; but not in a bad way. 

Ricky could escape in EJ and find himself somewhere he never thought he’d be able to go; a white sand beach of Maui, soft and welcoming. Not like the ever judging eyes of Cape May. A sunrise on the edge of an Outer Banks shore, black rocks slick with seaweed and sea foam spraying into his face. A makeshift swing attached to a tree by the waves off of Malibu, toes grazing the sand and sun seeping into his eyes as he went back and forth.

It was bliss where EJ took Ricky, moving deep inside him and hitting that spot that made him see stars that were clearer than any of the one’s shining in the night sky above them. A whisper with wonder filled eyes from below: _you look so beautiful like this. I want you like this forever. So good and just for me, right, baby?_

A smirk and a more mischievous mutter from above: _do the girls at ECU ride you like this? They’re not as tight as me, right? You’re never gonna find anything better than this._

A tight grip on Ricky’s hips and a flip of their bodies, switching their positions. Empty for just a second before being filled right back up again, a high pitched moan drawn from his lips. The movement between them was rougher now, harder. A brutal pace was being set with EJ’s hips and his hands came to wrap around Ricky’s waist, fingers splayed and holding his body down so he could just _take_ it as EJ thrust and thrust and _thrust_ until Ricky was crying out unabashedly into the night. Ricky’s hair fell into his face as he was pounded and amidst all of the aggression, a gentle hand moved from his waist before stopping to rest against the his cheek.

Coffee eyes met sea glass ones, filled with wonder and awe as they moved against each other. Ricky reached up, tracing his fingers up EJ’s stomach to his chest and landing to wrap his hand around the back of the older boy’s neck and pull him down, catching him in a deep kiss. EJ brought Ricky’s legs around his waist and Ricky wrapped his arms around EJ’s neck and they stayed close to each other like that, all skin on skin contact as close as they could possibly be.

EJ came thinking about a love of sea turtles, an Animal Crossing obsession, and pink eyeshadow underneath his thumb; a firework display of Canary yellow shooting across his eyes. Ricky held EJ close as he let himself go with thoughts of crop tops, crushed Oreo crumbles, and the distinct scent of sunscreen slicked skin.

They caught their breaths as a tinge of the sun began creeping up on the opposite horizon of Sunset Beach and with the realization that they had been there for a lot longer than they had anticipated. EJ nuzzled his face into Ricky’s neck, inhaling the familiar and comforting scent of toasted coconut and sea salt before Ricky took EJ’s face in his hands and brought their lips together once more.

They separated but stayed close, lips brushing and noses bumping as Ricky ran his hands through the soft brown hair at the back of EJ’s neck and whispered as the hints of sun reflected on the sweat slicked cheekbones of the older boy.

“I don’t want this to just be a summer fling,” Ricky mumbled against EJ’s mouth, searching the turquoise eyes above him for all the answers to the millions of words and phrases and questions running through his mind.

EJ blinked slowly, but never let his eyes drift away from the younger boy as he fluttered his eyelashes against Ricky’s cheeks in a million butterfly kisses. 

“I’m not going to leave you. I don’t want to leave you,” the older boy whispered.

And Ricky wasn’t entirely sure if that was true. But for now, as the summer came to a close and the sun soaked into the skin of the boy he held close to his heart:

Ricky was willing to believe it.

———

epilogue

———

He plucked his fingers on the thin strings of the ukulele in his arms, improvising a melody as the crackling of the bonfire in front of him and the laughter echoing around him played on.

He was distracted by the noise in the background and the music that he was playing when a pair of strong arms wrapped around his middle where he was sitting on the sand, bringing him back to the present.

“Whatcha playing, Newsie?” EJ asked, resting his chin on Ricky’s shoulder.

He turned his head to lean closer to EJ as he replied, “Just messing around. I only know, like, three chords to be honest.”

“Really?” the older boy wondered, untangling his arms from Ricky and moving to sit close next to him instead and taking the ukelele from his hands. “I can teach you, if you want.”

“I didn’t know you played uke,” Ricky observed, eyes soft and face in his hands as he watched EJ play softly.

“Well, I guess there’s a lot we could still learn about each other, yeah?” EJ smiled, leaning in close to Ricky until–

“GET A ROOM, WOULD YOU?” Gina yelled from the other side of the bonfire.

The boys turned to her, holding up their middle fingers and sticking their tongues out like children.

EJ snickered, leaning in close to whisper to Ricky, “She’s one to talk, isn’t she? Look at her with Nini.”

Ricky chuckled along with the older boy next to him, turning to observe Gina and Nini on the other side of the bonfire. He noticed Gina had her eyebrow quirked flirtaciously and could distinctly hear the British accent Nini adopted when she was nervous. He shook his head, “And to think Nini was _sooo_ concerned about _me_ dating a _boy_.”

The pair laughed as the others gathered around the fire. It was EJ, Ashlyn, and Seb’s last day in Cape May, the last real day of summer for the group of kids before real life began. They decided to have a small get together as a sort of goodbye party since they were all heading in different directions; Kourtney would be on her way to FIT in New York to study Advertising in the next few weeks, Big Red would be on a plane to Duke in North Carolina, and Carlos would be joining Nini in California. Seb would obviously be moving back into Eastern Coast with EJ while Ashlyn and Gina would be starting their senior years.

That left Ricky.

It was weird knowing that his friends, the same one’s he’d known since kindergarten, the same one’s that slurped ice cream and got concussions and were horrible at mini golf, would be separating from each other for the first time in their lives. But something about that fact didn’t bother Ricky as much as he thought it would. It was nice seeing his friends live out the dreams that they’d been chasing their whole lives, to finally get out of the small town that had been hindering their full potential. He was proud of them and had a strong feeling that no matter the distance, they’re friendship was strong enough to last.

He didn’t realize he had blanked out, lost in his own thoughts until a voice interrupted his daydreams. “Awww, Ricky’s moping because EJ’s leaving,” Big Red teased, elbowing him in his side and breaking him out of his trance.

“Shut up, devil,” he grumbled as the group laughed around him.

Kourtney tutted, shaking her head. “What’s there to even mope about? You’ll be seeing him in a week anyway.”

“Yeah,” EJ drawled, pulling Ricky into his arms once more and nuzzling his face into the younger boy’s neck. “Can’t wait to help move you into Wilson Hall! The ugliest, smelliest, most cockroach and rat infested dorm at ECU.”

Ricky grimaced with just the hint of a smile on tugging at the corner of his lips as he pulled his phone out. “Do you think my academic advisor will be pissed off if I rescind my acceptance?” he replied sarcastically.

“You can’t rescind an acceptance that was almost taken away from you! You’re the worst procrastinator I know, I swear to God. Waiting until a week before move in to tell everyone where you going to college. Giving us a goddamn heart attack,” Kourtney chided.

The conversation progressed past Ricky’s college decision but he was stuck thinking about all of the upcoming changes he would soon have to adjust to. He didn’t realize how tight his hands were clenched around EJ’s at his waist until the older boy nudged Ricky gently with his knee.

“You wanna get away from everyone and sit by the water?” EJ whispered into Ricky’s ear gently.

He nodded by way of reply, ignoring the coos from the other teens around them as EJ lead him close to the shore with a lazy interlock of their fingers. They sat silently for a few minutes, Ricky resting his head on EJ’s shoulder as they watched the cycle of the waves go to and from the ocean. These were Ricky’s favorite sounds: EJ’s steady breathing and the water crashing against the sand. It was all he needed.

“Hey,” the older prompted, jabbing Ricky’s head gently with his shoulder.

“What?” Ricky replied, lifting his head up curiously.

“Let’s go skinny dipping.”

“ _What?!?_ ”

“You heard me, Newsie,” EJ declared confidently, rising from his place on the sand and looking down at Ricky expectantly.

“I wish I didn’t.”

“C’mon! It’ll be fun!”

“It’s, like, 11pm! I’m not going skinny dipping. Plus our friends are literally _right behind us_ ,” the younger boy argued.

“I guess I’ll just have to carry you to the water myself then.”

“Wait. What? No! No, no, no—” Ricky screamed as EJ threw him over his shoulder, running towards the water and promptly throwing a flailing Ricky into the water, clothes and all.

The younger boy emerged from the waves, taking a deep breath before yelling at the laughing boy in front of him. “I’m gonna fucking _kill_ you!”

Quickly Ricky pulled EJ into the water along with him, pushing his head down before the older boy gained control. Ricky’s feet sunk into the sand as the waves crashed into their bodies, laughing as EJ got knocked down by a particularly rough one and sprung back up, shaking the water from his hair like a golden retriever. EJ retaliated by splashing water into Ricky’s face, making him spit everywhere and from then on they kept splashing and pushing and kicking at each other until they couldn’t breathe from laughing.

“Hey! Come and get me, Newsie!” the older boy yelled.

EJ ran out of the water with a wide grin on his face, Ricky right on his tail laughing with crinkled eyes before he slowed down, hesitating as he watched EJ with eyes full of wonder. 

Sea foam green eyes and sparkling white teeth that revealed a sweet, charming smile. The type of smile that could get someone to do anything. Droplets of water dripping from the wild, wet hair sticking to EJ’s forehead. Evenly tanned skinned that glowed in the ember’s of the bonfire. Precious and special and all for Ricky. A smooth and clear piece of sea glass found washed up on the shore. A rare golden coin hidden beneath the million grains of sand. A message in a bottle that Ricky would gladly spend years trying to decipher.

“You coming?” EJ asked, eyes bright and looking at Ricky like he held the universe. The older boy reached out, large palm facing the starry sky and fingers spread wide in invitation.

Ricky looked at the hand in front of him, considering. 

He could ignore the request, pretend it didn’t exist, run away into the night and go back to his everyday zombie routine.

Or he could put his hand into the strong one in front of him and allow himself to be whisked away into the moonlight reflected on the mighty waves, let himself take a chance on something that might turn into something good; give himself this one mythical moment that could possibly end in disaster or laughter or hatred or a wide grin.

He chose the latter.

**Author's Note:**

> well, that's it yall! it's the end of summer, so that means it's the end of this series. thank you SO much to everyone who has taken the time to read, give a kudoes, bookmark, comment, whatever the heck on this crazy little fic idea i had while i went to beach. i absolutely did not expect the story to go in the direction it did but i can honestly say this is one of my favorite things that i've ever written. im super proud of how much i challenged myself here and super thankful to everyone who motivated me to get it out. i hope you all like the universe i've created here as much as i do. i will most definitely miss writing my little ice cream boy and lifeguard. maybe one day in the far, far future i'll come back to this series.
> 
> with that being said...to the sky high readers, sorry that updates are slow on that! but keep an eye out because something might be coming very soon 👀 and as for something else coming very soon...well, no spoilers but you also might want to keep an eye out for a little old series that i haven't updated in a while. i could be lying. who knows? im just a writer.
> 
> hope you all are doing better than i am. its a struggle out here.
> 
> xoxo,  
> flow3rs
> 
> [look at the fic moodboard here!](https://pin.it/6MRBYhP)  
> [listen to the spotify playlist inspired by this series!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0k9dkMT4OpTE0Lq4UK31Yr?si=yewGP6h-TFy0ZIaa2HBf6g)
> 
> BE MY FRIEND!  
> [tumblr](https://magentaful.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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